


Broken together

by Random_Soul



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hamilton References, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Physical Abuse, Suicidal Thoughts, Verbal Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 05:02:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15550200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_Soul/pseuds/Random_Soul
Summary: College is here and everyone's excited. They can't wait to leave behind the past that's haunted them for years to start anew. With new friends some enemies, it's seems as if life's back track. But what happens when the past catches up with them? Will they realize some enemies are their closest allies? One thing's for sure to survive college they'll to learn how to be broken together.





	1. Chapter 1

College is here and everyone's excited. They can't wait to leave behind the past that's haunted them for years to start anew. With new friends some enemies, it's seems as if life's back track. But what happens when the past catches up with them? Will they realize some enemies are their closest allies? One thing's for sure to survive college they'll to learn how to broken together.


	2. Results

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Results are in!
> 
> Also, most of the characters in the book do not belong to me. They're either from Hamilton or my own creations unless otherwise said. The story is accurate and differs from what the actual story is.  
> I also don't own any companies in this book unless it's obvious, like a Hamilton reference. Updates on the book are random and I've never used Archive before so bear with me, please. I used google translate for the French parts. I failed French so be please be leniant. Thank you and enjoy!

“Alex, son! You have a letter from a certain college!” Alexander hears George call. Alex perks up, running downstairs as fast as he can. He slides to a stop in front of George Washington, his adopted father. He smiles, making a grab for the letter. George pulls it away.  
“Alexander. Just so you know, I didn’t put in a good word for you or anything. Even though I work at the King’s, this was entirely you. If you get in, it’s because they wanted you to. If you don’t, it’s because they didn’t. I didn’t interfere whatsoever. I seen way too many stupid people get in because they knew someone.”  
“Okay, Washingdad. But, can I have the note now? I wanna know!” George rolls his eyes and gives the kid the letter. Alexander rips it open, skimming through to find the answer. His eyes widen as a smile goes across his face.  
“I got in! Martha! Martha! I got a scholarship to King’s College!” He runs off after hugging George to find his adopted mom. George looks after him.  
“This will be interesting.”

~~~~Change~~~~

“Good morning Mr. Anderson!” The math teacher looks up from the board to see his favorite student walk through the doors.  
“Laurens. I was wondering if you’d be here today.” John smiles and sits down, his old backpack by his side.  
“You know John. It’s your senior year and you should probably figure out what college you’re going to.”  
“I know. I applied to a few, but I haven’t heard back. I moved families so it probably would go to the old address.”  
“Again? I swear they can’t get you in a good foster family to save their miserable lives.” John laughed and looked out the window.  
“Well, I turn eighteen in two weeks. I already got a job and I’m gonna move out.” Mr. Anderson smiles and puts a letter on his desk.  
“Maybe this will give you some hope. It’s from King’s College. They sent it to the school due to how much you do move around the city.” John takes it and opens it. He reads the letter as his face lights up.  
“I was accepted! It says here, due to being in Foster Care, I get a full ride. I’m going to college!”

~~~~Change~~~~

“Hercules, what’s for dinner?” Hercules looks out from behind the fridge to see his youngest sibling. He knelt down by the eleven-year-old.  
“That’s a good question Lashara.” He opens his wallet, seeing a twenty leftover from the money he earned from creating a dress for a baby’s dedication. He sighs. 'Thank goodness we’ll actually have food this Thursday.' Due to his checks coming in on Friday, foodless Thursdays weren’t uncommon. They usually ended up with peanut butter spoons (peanut butter on a spoon). He turns back to Lashara with a smile.  
“How does Little Caesars sound?” Lashara smiles and runs off. Hercules grabs his coat and heads out. On the way back, he grabs the mail. He places the pizza on the table as the four siblings swarm it like hawks. He rolls his eyes, sifting through the mail.  
“Bills, bills, a sketchy note probably from one of mom’s drug dealers, what’s this?” he flips over an envelope and reads the front.  
“Oh, it must be the results for King’s College.” The siblings perked up at this, turning their heads quickly.  
“You got a letter from King’s College?” Shalinda asked. At the age of sixteen, she was the second oldest and second in command. The twins, Lausen and Leopard, jump over the side of the couch to see. For twelve-year-olds, they were very energetic and athletic. It got to be a handful sometimes, but Hercules’s main goal was to make sure they didn’t grow up to fast so he wasn’t complaining. Lashara and Shalinda came up next to him as well. He opens the letter reading it. A smile crawls on his face.  
“I got a full ride scholarship.” The siblings cheer. Hercules frowns and looks around.  
“I can’t go. You guys need me.” Leo looks at him.  
“I and Lausen will knock you out and drag you to that campus if we have to.” Lashara smiles.  
“I got the bags.” Shalinda places a hand on his shoulder.  
“We’ll be fine Hercules. I have a job and Wendy’s, remember? We’ll live.” Hercules thinks.  
“Only if I can still send you money through the mail.”  
“Deal.” Leopard grabs two slices of pizza, handing one to Hercules.  
“A toast to Hercules. Showing that there’s hope for this messed up bloodline after all.” Hercules rolls his eyes as the rest of the family put their pizza slices in the air as if it was a cup.  
“Cheers!”

~~~~Change~~~~

“Lafayette!” Lafayette peaks up from his wash basket to see Raphael walking up the stairs. He holds a wooden basket with dirty clothes on top and something underneath.  
“C’est quoi Raphael? (What is it, Raphael?)” Raphael has been the only person who treats Laff like something more than a slave since he got to this dreaded place. Laff greatly appreciates it and will often get things that he needs from the 17-year-old. Raphael sets down the basket. Laff takes away the clothes on top to see a letter, a suitcase, some food, Raphael’s old laptop, and a plane ticket to America.  
“Les résultats pour King's College sont entrés. Je sais que tu es entré donc j'ai déjà tout ce dont tu as besoin pour aller en Amérique. (The results for King’s College came in. I know you got in so I already got everything you need to go to America.)”  
“Comment le sais-tu? (how do you know?)”  
“Une intuition. (A hunch.)” Laff grabs the letter, opening it. He reads through and smiles.  
“Avais-je raison? (Was I right?)” Raphael asks, eyes wide with excitement.  
“Tu as toujours raison, Raphael. (You’re always right, Raphael.) Raph runs out of the attic before his mom gets suspicious and Laff is left to continue his duties.

~~~~Change~~~~

“THOMAS!!!” Thomas jumps at the voice. In a matter of seconds, he’s in the room, inspecting the middle child for injuries.  
“Ericka are you okay? Did someone hurt you? Do I need to call the police-”  
“Mail’s here.” Thomas gives her a death glare.  
“You practically gave me a heart attack for mail?”  
“The results of King’s College came with the mail.”  
“That’s not important-” Jillian rushes down with Ian hot on her heels.  
“We get to see of Thomas got into college?” Ian asks, jumping off one of the stairs.  
“The letter came in?” Asks Nick, looking over the edge of the railing to the upstairs. Ericka nods. Nick runs through the halls, shouting to everyone that results are in. Soon enough, Ericka, Ian, Jillian, Nick, Judah, Caitlyn, and Courtney are all hovering around Thomas. The grandma and caretaker of the family makes her way down the stairs, looking at the bunch.  
“Now what’s got the Brady bunch down here?”  
“The results on whether or not Thomas got into King’s College is here, Nana.” Nana smiles.  
“Well, what are you waiting for? Open it.” Thomas reads the letter aloud, everyone listening intently.  
“We are proud to say you have been accepted into King’s College!” Everyone cheers, not caring what the rest of the letter says. Nana lays a hand on his shoulder.  
“I’m proud of you, Thomas. I went wrong in so many ways with your father, but you have a future Thomas. Don’t mess it up. If you ever need us, we’ll be a call away.” Thomas hugs her.  
“Thanks, Nana.”  
“You’re welcome, darling. Now go. If you got the results, then so did James.” Thomas’s face lights up.  
“I completely forgot. We wanted to go to the same college and that's why I sent in the application to begin with. Thanks, Nana!” Thomas runs out the door.

~~~~Change~~~~

James shuts the door to his small apartment with his foot. He places his bag on the chair, happy to be done with work for the week. He takes out his dinner of Mcdonalds and begins to eat, skimming through the mail. He stops and one letter, reading it.  
“From Wallens Ridge State Prison. Looks like dear old dad’s trying to get me to bail him and mom out again. Their fault they're in there.” James breathing begins to quicken as the memories flood back to him. The years of abuse, pain, and bondage coming back in full swing. He begins to do his breathing exercises that the therapist taught him. After ten minutes, his breathing returns to normal. He throws the letter away and continues looking. One letter catches his eye.  
“From King’s College? It must be the result of if I got in and what scholarships I have.” He opens the letter and reads it, a smile lighting up his face.  
“In and with a full ride. This is great! I guess I’ll know if Thomas got in in three, two, one…”  
“JAMES!”


	3. They Were Roommates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if I'm going to do all chapters like this, or a different person's view each chapter. State if you have a preference. I really hope you guys enjoy the book so far. I have no clue where I'm going with this.

Alex walked around the campus, looking at the paper in his hand. It’s two weeks before classes and it’s ‘meet the teachers’ day for half the students. He’s already met Mr. Shemanhour, Mr. King, Mrs. Smith (which he already hates), and Mr. Lincoln. His last teacher is George (in which he needs to get used to referring to him as Mr. Washington despite him being Alex’s adopted father). Alex walks into the large room with desks and chairs. In the front of the room is George along with another student. The student has curly hair pulled back in a ponytail and the most freckles that Alex has seen on anyone. He’s a little smaller than Alex, which is a bit of a surprise. Alex is a twig. He turns to leave, making eye contact on the way out. Alex watches as he leaves and then goes up to George.  
“Who was that?”  
“John. He’s in your class.” Alex smiles, happy to share a class with the boy. George hands him the stuff and smiles.  
“You already know all there is to know, so you should probably get to your housing. You still have the paper?”  
“Yep. Right here.” He shows the now crumpled piece of paper. George nods and gives him the stuff he needs before shooing him out of the class. Though they live only a few minutes away, Alex wanted to stay in a dorm and he could for free, so they said why not. He walks to his dorm, opening it with a key. On the couch, he sees three men, one of which looks very familiar.  
“Aaron (betch ya didn’t see that one comin’)?” Aaron turns his head toward the voice.  
“Alexander? You got into King’s College afterall, huh?” Alex smiles, his head held high.  
“Yup! I told you I would.” Aaron indicates to the other two on the couch.  
“This is James and that Gilburt, or Lafayette.” James waves his hand slightly, as Lafayette smiles.  
“Bonjour.” Alex smiles wider.  
“French native?”  
“That obvious?” Alex studies the two men. His eyes are drawn to James. There’s something different about him. His eyes are scanning and he’s always on edge. He never seems to fully relax and rarely looks away. ‘He’s looking for a threat’, Alex thought. Something about him gave off the impression of a smart, intellectual who would be smart with his words the few times he uses them. James stands up and looks Alex dead in the eye, shaking his hand.  
“James.”  
“Alex.” Alex feels slightly intimidated, but knows the tactic. He’s done it before. Standing gives a chance to run, handshake allows him to be thrown, and eye contact shows that he knows you’re there and is not scared. They let go and move on with their lives. Laff places a hand on Alex’s shoulder.  
“Let me show you your room, mon ami.” Alex smiles as they walk toward the room.  
____________________________________________________________________________  
After John left Mr. Washington’s room, he made his way towards his dorm. He thought about the kid he saw on his way out the door. ‘Hopefully we’re in the same class.’ John smiles at the thought and finds his room after much searching. He unlocks the door, being only the second to get here. The first was a female, which confused John greatly. Genders weren’t really supposed to mix. The girl looks up.  
“Hello.”  
“Hello. Is this the right room? My key worked.”  
“Room 1776?”  
“Yep.”  
“Then it’s right.” John looks at her a little longer. Realization dawns on her face.  
“Oh! Yeah, I’m not your roommate. I’m helping my brother move in.”  
“That makes sense-”  
“LEOPARD GIVE THAT BACK!” John reels back at the screaming and looks to see two young kids running, probably still in middle school. They both were darker skin and had curly hair, unlike the girl on the couch with straight hair and lighter skin. ‘Different parent’ John came to the conclusion of. The boy had a scarf and tripped on the carpet. Before they hit the ground, a man picked him up. He put the boy down and rubbed his eyes.  
“Let’s not burn down the dorm in the first hour of being here. I don’t want my roommates hating me quite yet.”  
“One’s already here.” He looks at me and then looks at the girl on the couch.  
“Thanks for the heads up Shalinda. You’re really making me trust with not getting our siblings killed.” Sarcasm was thick in his voice. Shalinda smiled up at him. He turns back at me and holds his hand out. I hesitantly take it, not knowing if I should trust him yet.  
“Hello. My name is Hercules. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum are Lausen and Leopard. That’s Shalinda and over there is Lashara. Their “helping” me move in.” He looks behind Hercules at a little girl playing with a rubix cube.  
“I’m John. I don’t have any siblings.” Lashara perks up.  
“We’ll be your siblings!” John chuckles as Hercules rolls his eyes.  
“I guess I have five siblings now.”  
“Four. Hercules is more like a dad. And a mom. He’s sorta like an all-parent being.” John smiles.  
“Alright you guys. Go on out to the car and make sure everything’s brought in. I saw a chinese buffet nearby if you want to go.” The siblings cheered and ran out the door. Hercules looks back on John.  
“Sorry about them. There having a rough time with this.”  
“I can imagine.”  
“Would you like to go out to eat with us?” John looks at him with wide eyes.  
“Can I! I mean, I shouldn’t. I don’t want to be a burden, I can’t pay for my own food, I really have to unpack-”  
“We’ll do all that later. And don’t worry, I’ll pay for you. I’m already paying for five others, what’s one more?”  
“Okay.” John places his stuff in the room with Hercules' things. John didn’t really have anything so the boxes were easy enough to move. Hercules smiles as they walk down to the car. He hasn’t met his other roommates yet, but at least he has Hercules on his side. And with him being built like a brick wall that can punch back, Hercules is all you really need in your life.  
______________________________________________________________________________  
The drive up consisted of disney songs and road games. By the time they got to the actual campus, Hercules has heard the entire Aladdin, Little Mermaid, and Mulan soundtrack three times each, along with “Go The Distance” and all the horrible jokes that come along with it. He parks his car in the dropout spot and steps out. It’s much bigger than he expected, but he’s ready for it. He closes his door as all the siblings file out of the car. Hercules heaves the trunk open and begins to take out his stuff. Half of it is sewing items and the other half is clothes. He also has some pictures, but that’s about the extent of his furniture. They didn’t have much to begin with, so packing was pretty easy. He also found a small shop that was willing to let him use one of their rooms for free when he needed to sew, so bothering his roommates wasn’t a problem. He got the chest on wheels with all of the fabrics, needles, thread, and his sewing machine it along with his main tub of clothes. The siblings came and began to grab as much as they could before everyone was brought upstairs.  
“Do you think your teachers are nice?”  
“I would like to think so.”  
“Are your roommates gonna like you?”  
“I’m hoping.”  
“Are you gonna get fed good?”  
“I have free lunch and so yes.”  
“Are you going to carry around pepper spray?”  
“Nobody’s going to attack me. I’m a 19 year old male.”  
“According to the rules, there’s nothing against bear repellent spray. Do you have bear repellent spray?”  
“No I don’t have bear repellent spray.”  
“You should buy some.”  
“I’m not gonna buy anything I don’t need. This trip costed enough already. I’m happy we actually have more than enough money to get you guys back.” They reach the door and unlock it, walking in to be greeted by no one.  
“I guess I’m the first one here. Alright kiddos, let’s unpack.” The group began to unpack and put the pictures up. The empty tubs went back into the car once everything was unpacked. Hercules looked around at his finished room, happy with his work. The rest of the siblings were around, but minding their own business.  
“LEOPARD GIVE THAT BACK!” Hercules bolts out the door, scared for whatever is happening. He sees Leo trip on a rug and begin to fall. Hercules bolts out, catching him before he hits the ground. He puts him on his feet and rubs his eyes.  
“Let’s not burn down the dorm in the first hour of being here. I don’t want my roommates hating me quite yet.”  
______________________________________________________________________________  
Lafayette walk s into the dorm, seeing a three men standing there. They look towards him and two smile, the last one shies away a little. The first man steps out  
“Hello, my name is Thomas. Those are two of your roommates, Aaron and James. I’m here to help James. My room is across the hall.”  
“Bonjour. My name is Lafayette.” Thomas chuckles.  
“Vous êtes français. J'ai étudié à l'étranger là-bas au lycée. (You’re french. I studied abroad there in high school.)” Laff smiles and nods.  
“C'est beau là-bas, n'est-ce pas? (It is beautiful there, is it not?)” Thomas smiles  
“Il y a des choses plus belles que tout en France. (There are some things that are more beautiful than anything in France.)” He subtly indicates toward James and Laff chuckles, knowing he already likes them. James and Aaron raises an eyebrow, obviously not knowing what they’re saying. Thomas smiles.  
“Well I ought to get going. I need to unpack myself. Goodbye Lafayette, Aaron.” He walks over to James, hugging him.  
“I’ll be right across the hall if you need me.”  
“I’ll be fine, Thomas. I’ve survived this long.”  
“I know. I just want you to know I’ll be right here if you need me. Don’t be afraid to call.” He goes to leave, smiling at Laff.  
“Nice to meet you Lafayette.” And with that, Thomas left.  
“We don’t know who our last roommate is yet, but he will share your room. I’ll show you it.” Lafayette follows Aaron into a vacant room.  
“If I may, how come Thomas is so protective of James?” Aaron looks at him.  
“He had a rough past. He also has some health issues that he’s dealing with. Thomas was one of the first people to look at him like he wasn’t broken.”  
“I know how it feels about a rough past. My childhood wasn’t great as well.”  
“We all are fighting our own war. I’m just happy that Thomas found James before he lost his.” They both move to the couch, Aaron sitting by James. Lafayette sit s on the loveseat as a door opens. A shorter man stands there, looking around.  
“Aaron?”  
______________________________________________________________________________  
The departure was the hardest part. Thomas’ family couldn’t come because of cost and school. So the day before they had a celebration of Thomas and James getting into school. Their friend was also getting in. His name was Aaron. He went to their school for a while, but moved away in high school. They kept in contact over the years and so he came to the party as well. He did leave earlier because he didn’t have anyone to say goodbye to. Thomas on the other hand, had to deal with tears, screams, and begs from his family. None of them were for him to stay, this meant too much for that to be the case, but they did beg to live in the dorm with him. He was disappointed when him and James got different rooms, but James shared a room with Aaron so Thomas knew he was safe. After they were done unloading James’ things (and Thomas having a talk with James’ roommate, Lafayette), Thomas went to his own room. There he found a bunch of basketball cards just laying around. Stacks of them in the main room. He looks around at the people. One is bringing boxes to a room and the other two are sitting there on their phones. The one moving boxes stop and looks at him.  
“Hello. My name is George. The ones on the couch are Evan and Nick. You’ll be sharing a room with me.” He seemed to be a little shy, but his voice was still strong and confident. Thomas grabbed his bags and went to the room where he’ll be staying. Thomas sets his stuff down and begins to unpack. Something catches his eye as he stands up. On George’s desk is a picture with him and another boy kissing his cheek. Thomas picks it up, examining it closely.  
“That’s my boyfriend. I hope you don’t mind.”  
“You two are adorable. What’s he like?” George’s eyes light up and a smile spreads on his face  
“His name is Philip. He doesn’t know his extended family. Once his dad was sixteen, he left the caribbeans because of a disagreement. Since then, they lost all connections with everyone. Philip says he has 27 cousins because no one can tell him different and he’s that kind of person. He is a poet and his work has been in some pretty good newspapers. He’s planning on going to college to study to be a writer. He’s a senior and to say he was upset that I was leaving him for college is an understatement. Which I don’t understand why. He lives like twenty minutes away and can drive.” Thomas chuckles, setting it down.  
“On an unrelated notes, I’m pretty sure our roommates are jerks. Don’t quote me on that unless I’m right.” Thomas goes back to unpacking his boxes, placing a few pictures on his desk himself.  
“Were those their basketball cards?”  
“Nick’s. He came in, unpacked them, and went to his room with his buddy.” George looks at Thomas.  
“What about yours?” Thomas looks at George.  
“What?”  
“Well, you asked me about my picture, what about yours?” Thomas looks at the desk.  
“Oh, that’s my friend, James. We met in elementary school after I hit him in the face with a kickball. I apologized and we became inseparable.” George laughs.  
“Kickball to the face?”  
“Did you two became friends by sharing a pencil.” Thomas asked, sarcasm thick in his voice. George falls silent.  
“I made fun of his family and he challenged me to a fight where I broke his leg.” Thomas breaks out in laughter.  
“And I thought mine was bad. How did you get from breaking legs to dating?”  
“I was forced to help him get to his classes. After that, we hit it off.” Thomas smiles. ‘Maybe this won’t be the worst thing ever.’  
______________________________________________________________________________  
Not being able to share a room with Thomas put James on edge more than he’ll admit. Aaron was willing to share a room with James because he wouldn’t trust anyone else. Laff is very happy and sees the best in everything, Aaron is still as preserved and to himself as ever, and Alex is head strong and can use his words. James was able to read all of this within the first ten minutes of sitting down to a conversation. The thing with both Alex and Laff is that their trying to read him. Their stare goes a little longer after he says something and they glance at him every once in a while. He knows what their doing because he’s done it. He hasn’t, however, let anyone do it to him. It’s too high of a chance to let anyone know what he’s really like. The only ones who know is Thomas and one if his teachers. What was his name again? Oh yeah, Mr. Washington. Mr. Washington knows of his physical and mental health problems, but didn’t push the cause of it, which makes James grateful. That’s not something you openly boast about. Once their done eating pizza (because their broke college kids who can’t afford anything else and the school cafeteria isn’t open yet) they all head to their rooms. James looks towards Aaron.  
“This is going to be an interesting year.” Aaron chuckles.  
“I agree with you on that one-” They hear the door to the main room shake and they rush out to meet with Alex and Laff.  
“Who do you think it is?”  
“Let’s find out.” Aaron opens the door to see a man shuffling through his keys and another one behind him waiting. They both look around the room and stand there like a deer in headlights.  
“This isn’t the right room.” The boy behind him bursts out laughing.  
“Good job, Hercules. I’m proud of you.”  
“Shut up, John. Not like your perfect yourself mister ‘this way would be shorter even though I’ve never been here before’.”  
“That was one time.”  
“I’ve known you for less than four hours. Anyway, sorry for scaring you all. We must be one or two over. Have a nice day.” He scans the room again, eyes staying on Laff for a split second longer before moving on. John smiles and waves.  
“Bye, nice to see you again.” He directs it towards Alex who smiles and waves. They move two rooms down and go into that room. Aaron closes the door and turns around. They all look at Lafayette who’s still staring at the door even after they left. His eyes are dreamy and his smile gets wider until it fills his entire face. Alex goes to his room and Aaron walks pass James, mumbling something about Laff being worse than Thomas and him. James continues to look at at Laff for a little bit until he turns to leave.  
“Hercules. His name is almost as beautiful as him.” James rolls his eyes and leaves the lovestruck baguette alone.


	4. Chapter 4: Death of a College Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for a little meet and greet!

Alex woke up, the smell of waffles wafting through the air. He stretches, feeling his spine crack. He walks out the door and sees Lafayette eating waffles and Aaron making another batch. He sits down, picking a few waffles and adding syrup.  
“I see you’re still staying up late.” Alex looks at Aaron who is smiling.  
“Ten is a normal time to get up.” Aaron gives him a glare that would make the devil tell the truth.  
“What time did you go to bed.”  
“4:37.”  
“That’s what I thought.”  
“You need help, mon ami.”  
“James isn’t awake.” James opens the door, fully dressed and wet from showering just a few minutes earlier.  
“I heard my name?” The two immigrants turn their heads towards the voice as Aaron smiles.  
“Where are you going?”  
“Nowhere.”  
“Do all Americans do that?”  
“Do what?”  
“Get up when they don’t need to and take a…”  
“Shower?”  
“Oui.”  
“Most stay in their pajamas all day.” James sits on the couch.  
“James, aren’t you going to eat?” Aaron asks, placing some waffles on a plate. James shakes his head.  
“I’m not hungry.” Aaron places waffles in his hand, taking James’ phone away. James rolls his eyes and takes the plate, eating a little bit while sitting at the counter. Alex looks at Aaron.  
“You’re like a mom.”  
“Thomas told me to make sure he eats.” Alex’s eyes go wide.  
“As in Jefferson?” James smiles, looking at Alex.  
“So you ARE the Hamilton that I’ve heard so much about. This will be interesting.” Alex groans and then freezes.  
“Please tell me he’s not here. I was able to escape when he switched to a new high school to be with his friend.”  
“He does go to the college if that’s your question,” Aaron says. James smiles, wiping his face.  
“He also is physically here in three, two, one…” A loud knock is heard at the door, making three of the four jump. Aaron opens the door. Thomas walks in. He’s taller than Alexander remembers but still as flamboyant as ever. He turns toward James.  
“Jemmy, do you want to…” He stares at Alex, both men’s eyes going a shade darker. Lafayette and Aaron look at each other as James smiles.  
“Jeffershit.”  
“Hamilhoe.”  
______________________________________________________________________________  
John takes a bite of his granola bar. His other roommates are named Samuel and Charles. They’re interesting souls, to say the least. Samuel is from Britain and doesn’t like the American government. And Charles is… well, John doesn’t really know about Charles. They’re currently sitting on the couch. Samuel is talking to his parents as Charles scrolls through his phone. Hercules hasn’t set down his sketchbook since he got off the phone two hours ago. John looks over his shoulder to see a beautiful dress with arrows and notes plastered all over the sides.  
“Wow, that’s beautiful.” Hercules jumps a bit, looking towards John.  
“What?”  
“The dress. It’s beautiful.” The dress is knee length. It has one sleeve the reaches the wrist and has a tighter top that becomes looser once it reaches the waist. The left side of the dress (with the sleeve) is blue with white stars. It goes from the bottom of the ribcage to the middle of the chest, up to the shoulder, and down to the wrist. The rest of the dress has horizontal, red and white stripes going from the right side down to the left. The first thought that came in John’s mind is how it’s very patriotic.  
“Thanks. I hope the customer likes it as much as you. She wants it for an event she’s going to. I also have to make the man’s outfit. I’m probably gonna go with a red shirt, white pants, a blue belt with white stars, and a dark blue, velvet dress coat. The woman is also gonna have a headband with red, white, and blue stars. It’ll look great.”  
“Where did you learn to sow?”  
“Myself. My siblings’ clothes kept getting holes in them. We couldn’t buy new ones, so I fixed the old ones. I found a sewing machine and started to create some. Eventually, a girl from my sister’s class wanted a dress like hers. Because I made it, she paid me to make another. This continued until everyone in town knew me for sewing and I was able to look over my siblings.”  
“Didn’t your mom and dad do that? Isn’t that their job?” John asks. Hercules shrugs.  
“They weren’t really in the picture.”  
“Oh.” John goes quiet, thinking of what was just said. He understands the whole ‘rough past’ routine, but he never met anyone else who had it. He was always alone. Hercules looks up, smiling.  
“I saw on the way over here that there’s a zoo nearby. We can go if you don’t have any plans.”   
“I don’t. We can go if you want.” Hercules looks it up on his phone and finds the website where the information is plastered.  
“It says they have lions, horses, birds, wolves, and all species of turtles, including the 7 species of sea turtles-”  
“Even flatback turtles!?! Those are only found in the Western Indo-Pacific. I haven’t seen them yet, but I want to. I used to take care of the turtles behind the school. There was one turtle who we named Strawberries. She loved them. She was a Red-eared Slider and was really cute. Did you know the TNMT are Red-eared Sliders? Either that or Diamondback Terrapin. It never specifically says but...” John stops, realizing he just went on a rant about turtles. Hercules chuckles standing up.  
“I’m sure I’ll hear all about it on the way. Come on, let’s go.” John shoots up, rushing to get his shoes on.  
____________________________________________________________________________  
To say Hercules was surprised by his roommate freaking out over turtles was a bit of an understatement. John threw his shoes on as Hercules grabbed his wallet, slipping on his shoes. They walk out with John in the lead. Two rooms down, the door is open to reveal a standoff. Someone in the door and someone who has waffles are attempting to kill each other with stares, someone is eating a plate of waffles, someone was making waffles but has abandoned them to watch the standoff, and another one who has forgotten waffles looked worried that they may have a death on their hands. Now looking at them, it’s the same people who they tried to walk in on yesterday. Hercules looks at John who shrugs.  
“Is something wrong?” Hercules asks. The one eating the waffles smiles.  
“Two stubborn people are in the same proximity of each other.” The two turn their heads at him.  
“I AM NOT STUBBORN!” They say in unison.  
“You two are stubborn.”  
“You don’t even know me.” One of them mumbles. The guy by the stove looks at him.  
“You’re stubborn.” The addition of small talk diffuses the situation enough that one in the doorway goes and sits on the couch and the guy who’s eating waffles sits next to him. The kid who he was staring at burns holes in the back of his head while continuing with his food. Hercules feels a light tug on his arm.  
“Should we invite them to the zoo?” John whispers. Hercules looks around.  
“Faced with a choice of that or hiding a dead body, I’d go zoo. It’s much more enjoyable.” He says back. He then turns to the rest of them. “I don’t know if you guys have any plans today, but we’re gonna go to the zoo if you want to come. It’s better than sitting here all day.” The short one with long hair sighs, giving up at pretending to kill the other one that’s now on the couch.  
“Yeah, I’ll go. Not like there’s anything better to do.” The one who has returned to making waffles shrugs.  
“Might as well. It’ll be good to get out of the house.”  
“I’m not going. I can’t deal with Alex all day.” The one who was at the door states.  
“I’m going.” The one that called the other two stubborn says. The guy sighs.  
“Fine, I’ll go.” Hercules looks at the other one who’s been awfully quiet through the whole ordeal.  
“What about you?” Hercules asks. The guy blushes and pokes at his waffles.  
“I don’t know. My English is not good and I should make it gooder. Is that right?” He asks, looking at the one making waffles.  
“It’s better.”  
“Better than what?”  
“The correct term is better. Gooder isn’t a word.”  
“Oh.” He blushes, looking down. Hercules chuckles. The man is adorable and his French accent doesn’t help him sound more manly.  
“You never get better if you don’t practice. Come on, it’ll be fun.” He flashes the French baguette a smile.  
“I guess you are right. My English will not get gooder. Wait, no. Better. My English will not get better by sitting here.”  
“See, you’re already improving.”  
“Improving?” The guy asks under his breath.  
“A fancy word for getting better.” The shorter man next to him (Alex, he thinks. Or that’s at least what the tall man called him) explains. The guy nods his head. The man making waffles looks at the two.  
“Well, come in and eat something while we all get ready. My name is Aaron. The one with the short hair is James, straight hair is Alexander or Alex, curly and down is Thomas, and the French man with the hair in a bun is Lafayette.”  
“I’m Hercules. This is John.” John smiles and sits down, already eating the waffles offered to him. Hercules sits next to Lafayette. Lafayette looks up at him and Hercules smiles, making Lafayette share a small smile with him. Today is gonna be a great day.  
______________________________________________________________________________  
Today is gonna be a horrible day. Or a great one, Lafayette doesn’t know yet. When Thomas came in, he thought he’s gonna have to help hide a body. Then Hercules came. He knew who it was immediately. Lafayette actually stayed up later than he should, imagining that voice. He goes to get dress, throwing on a pair of black pants and a shirt from his high school. He looks in the mirror after fixing his hair. He sighs and sits on the bed. He shouldn’t do this. He shouldn’t fall in love. His mom and dad loved him, now their six feet underground. Everyone who loves him has died. The door opens to reveal Alex coming through.  
“I can’t believe I agreed to this.”  
“You are just...Upset? Yeah, that sounds right. You are just upset that Thomas is coming.”  
“I am very upset that he is coming. And where do you have a right to speak Mr. ‘I’m not going. Oh wait, hot guy’s coming? What are waiting for?’” Lafayette blushes and looks down.  
“He’s not that hot-”  
“You think he has abs?”  
“You can see them through his shirt. He was probably in American football. He must be strong. Plus, he has such a caring personality. His voice is deep, yet there’s a gentleness behind it. He’s like- Mon dieu, I’m beginning to see your point.” Lafayette places his head in his hands as Alex laughs. He grabs his change of clothes and goes to the bathroom, leaving Lafayette. He gets up and waits in the main room after grabbing his wallet and phone. He sits on a chair and Hercules looks up. He stares at him. Lafayette shifts uncomfortably underneath the gaze and Hercules continues. After a while, Hercules speaks.  
“I want to say your name is Laffy Taffy, but I know that’s not right.” Lafayette blushes and looks down.  
“It’s Lafayette.”  
“Is it okay if I just call you Laffy Taffy? I’m good at remembering faces, stories, and random facts, but terrible at names.”   
“S-sure mon ami.” Lafayette answered in a hushed tone. He’s never been this shy in his entire life. It’s not his fault, the guy’s got looks. From a different room, the other called for Hercules (John, Lafayette thought his name was). He goes in and a shifting seat is heard right next to him. He looks over to see Aaron.  
“You’re subtle.”  
“Shut up.”  
______________________________________________________________________________  
Thomas sits on the couch with James leaning on his shoulder.  
“Stop sulking, it’s making you stiff and thus uncomfortable.”  
“I can’t believe he’s here. And you’re roommate! Out of everyone who could be with you, it had to be him. I swear if he touches you-”  
“Why would he touch me?”  
“I don’t know, but if he does…”  
“What are you gonna do, send your grandma on him?”  
“YES! She’s scary if someone messes with one of her grandbabies. There was a kid who made fun of my sister and that poor boy almost lost a nose.”  
“Which sister was it?”  
“Caitlyn.”  
“Yeah, I remember that. Caitlyn can take care of herself, though. Actually, your entire family can. Remember that one time where that man pinned me against the wall at the store?” Thomas’ eyes go dark as his face gains a murderous look.  
“That man’s lucky he walked away with mild injuries.”  
“He didn’t walk away. You guys broke his legs.”  
“We broke his kneecaps, not his legs. Plus, he deserved it.”  
“And I’m not saying he didn’t. I’m just saying you all need to calm down.”  
“Tell that to Nana.”  
“Are you kidding me? I would be dead in seconds.” Thomas chuckles. Everyone else comes out in the main room, putting on their shoes. They begin to walk to the zoo. Hercules, John, and Alex are at the lead with Aaron and Laf behind them and Thomas and James trailing behind, having their own conversation. Alex, never one for silence, speaks up after a few minutes.  
“What are you two going to school for?”  
“I’m doing marine biology.”  
“Tailoring.” Everyone but John looks at Hercules in surprise.  
“I would have never thought.”  
“Alex, you act as if you think much anyways.” Thomas retorts. Alex gives him a death glare as James sighs.  
______________________________________________________________________________  
James sighs. He loves Thomas, but man is he stupid. Sure, Thomas is extremely smart, graduating high school with a 4.2 GPA, but he’s still stupid. He doesn’t know what fights are actually worth fighting, and what fights are useless and pointless. Well, at least he has other positive attributes. Thomas has a beautiful smile that’s practically contagious, able to make almost anyone feel better. He is a sweetheart when he wants to be, though that was really never unless James was involved. And he’s also pretty cute. I mean, he was a player in high school for a reason. James believed his total was six women and two men. James was there through the whole thing. Some of them would try and get Thomas to leave him, but they never separated. You dated Thomas, you basically dated James. Sure, James didn’t go to dinner with them on a regular basis, but you also didn’t go on Thomas and James’ walks around the park on a regular basis. That was old Thomas though. He stopped being a player after the girlfriend he had at the time had sexually harassed James. Thomas was fuming and promised he would stop messing around. Ever since then, it’s been the two of them, with the exception of one guy who followed them around the school for a week, just to ask James out but we don’t really talk about that.  
“What are you thinking about?” James looks at Thomas.  
“Hm? Oh, just high school you.”  
“Don’t think about high school me. He was an idiot.”  
“Yeah well, I guess not much has changed in that department.” Thomas gives him a death glare and James chuckles. They look up and see the other five looking at them.  
“What?” Thomas asks, raising an eyebrow. Hercules raises one in return and John blurts out the question they are all wondering.  
“Are you two dating?”  
“No, why would you think that?” Every head turned to their intertwined fingers. James rolls his eyes.  
“It’s a habit of Thomas. He has younger siblings and so will immediately grab a hand if there are a lot of people, they’re crossing a street, or it’s a new place in order to make sure they’re safe.” Hercules nods.  
“Yeah, I do that too.”  
“You have younger siblings?”  
“Four of them.”  
“I’ve got seven.” Hercules' eyes go wide.  
“And I thought mine was a lot. I feel bad for your parents.” James feels his hand get squeezed ever so slightly. He squeezes it back, relaxing Thomas just a bit.  
“My grandma actually takes care of us. What about your parents? Aren’t their hands full with five?”  
“Mom’s a drug addict and alcoholic who rarely gets out of bed and all of us siblings have so many different dads it crazy. We only have each other and some kind neighbors who will bring us food every once in a while, so no. My parents’ hands are completely free. My hands, on the other hand, are piled high with a bunch of energetic children who can’t seem to calm down.” Hercules begins walking and the rest slowly begin to follow, the mood a bit different than before. Thomas stands there, looking ahead.  
“You alright Thomas?”  
“His family is messed up and he basically became a father to four children he didn’t have.”  
“It’s surprising you got that much from his little speech, but. That’s stuff is really sad, but it happens.”  
“His mother is probably wasting their money.”  
“Yes.”  
“His home life is probably one of guessing and crossed fingers, sort of like mine.”  
“What are you getting at, Thomas?” Thomas looks at James with wide eyes.  
“He said that with such ease. Why did he say it with such ease?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be honest with me, is anyone enjoying this story? Is it even that good? I like it, but does anyone else? I mean, if you do, thanks for reading and sorry for the updates that are slower than molasses. I'll try to update a little more regularly, but I do try to get longer chapters to make up for it. Anyways, thanks for reading this far!


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